Chesco Certifies Its Election Results

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — In a meeting that lasted only a few minutes, the Chester County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution certifying the Election Board's count here.

The resolution approved Monday certified the "official results of the computation of the Nov. 3, 2020 General Election."

Commissioner Marian D. Moskowitz called the certifying resolution "the end of a journey."

Commissioner Josh Maxwell said he is "Proud that the local parties worked together with our election office to ensure a safe, secure, and transparent election with no contested provisional ballots."

Maxwell added, "Our Voter Services team were rock stars from beginning to end."

Chester County voter turnout was more than 83 percent, with 316,586 ballots cast in the 2020 General Election. On Election Day, 161,935 ballots were cast and 151,149 mail-in ballots were cast. There were an additional 3,502 provisional ballots cast, according to the resolution's summary.

"The Department of State continues to work closely with and support all 67 counties as they work to complete the election certification process," department spokeswoman Wanda Murren said, in an email to Patch.

Last week attorneys from both the Democratic and Republican parties agreed to drop challenges to 1,300 provisional ballots in Chester County, acknowledging that the county's Voter Services had acted with transparency and diligence in examining the ballots.

Chester County Voter Services took "extraordinary measures" toward contacting voters whose provisional ballots were in question, and all its steps were in compliance with voting laws and the transparency required for "free and fair elections," agreed attorneys from both the Republican and Democratic parties of Chester County.

The Trump campaign's post-election lawsuit that sought to prevent Pennsylvania from certifying its election results was dismissed by a federal judge over the weekend. The lawsuit had named elections officers in seven Pennsylvania counties, including Chester County, as well as Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar.

The Trump campaign filed an appeal of that decision just a day later on Sunday, one day before the state's election certification deadline.

Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump soundly in Chester County. Biden's lead at last update was a full 17 percentage points; Biden had 57.76 percent of Chesco's vote and Trump 40.72 percent.

Read about the Trump campaign's appeal of the federal judge's decision here.